The Good Fight
by 00Archangel00
Summary: You never know someone until you fight them. M for language
1. The Rules

**A/N**: I'm just playing with this idea for the moment, and I'd really love feedback (I don't have a beta! *tear*). As always, Bioware owns nearly everything, and I'm just playing with the world they gave us.

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><p>Garrus bobbed under Jyril's cross weaving and launching his own hook at the soft spot between the armored plates on Jyril's abdomen. Jyril slid to the left at the last second and Garrus's punch caught empty air. Garrus grunted in frustration as Jyril landed a roundhouse kick on Garrus's side. The kick didn't hurt, much, but Garrus normally didn't let himself get caught like that.<p>

"What's on your mind?" Jyril asked dropping back.

Garrus shook his head righting himself, "Saren."

Jyril threw a soft jab, testing Garrus. He already knew Garrus would feint right before closing—they'd been sparring so long that Jyril didn't need to test Garrus. Their moves like clockwork: in, out, under, cross, hook, kick, close.

_Garrus was looking through the messages: classified, classified, classified; the mission reports: classified, classified, classified. Why have him investigate spectres if their movements were above his paygrade. He threw the datapad on the desk in frustration pacing the office_.

Garrus moved into the punch keeping his head outside the jab and launching his own cross. It was a move Garrus rarely used and he hit Jyril square on the nose. Garrus broke into a wry smile, it was nice to know he still had some surprises. The punch didn't have a lot of power, but they were just sparring, and Garrus hadn't thrown his weight into it. Jyril growled, and Garrus threw a hook at his now exposed side. "I just can't seem to get anything on him. Everything he does is classified," Garrus continued, breathing heavily, and finishing his current assault with an uppercut.

"_I don't understand your fascination with them," his father lectured. "Spectres work outside the law, they have no consequences. We aren't made for that. C-Sec is where you need to be."_

"Damn spectres," Jyril agreed throwing a belated jab. Garrus had already danced outside of his reach.

Garrus dropped his guard for a second; "Pallin's getting on me for not having more to present, and now some human is poking around."

_The human. He'd seen her today. Proud, he thought he saw the hint of a swagger, but then again all humans walked that way to him. She'd done something back on Elysium against some batarians, but Garrus wasn't sure who hadn't encountered batarian slavers at some point._

Jyril snorted, "The Executor just doesn't want to look bad in front of the Council, he knows your hands are tied." Jyril brushed Garrus's jab aside moving to his inside—a dangerous place to be—he laced his left foot with Garrus's right bringing him down on the mat. Garrus's breath went out in a big _harrumph_ as he hit the ground.

"And the human, well, no one worries about them." Jyril landed on Garrus with his knee on his chest effectively holding him down. Garrus struggled for a moment knowing he lost this round.

"Again?" he growled.

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><p>Shepard spun landing a backfist on Alenko's face. He was wearing gear, so she wasn't concerned, he'd hit her good a couple times himself. She followed up with a quick crosshook combination.

"_We're sorry, at this time we cannot offer you the support you ask. We have no proof Saren has done anything of the things you claim. You were the only one who saw him on Eden Prime."_

She landed a solid knee and she felt him breathe out in a quick gasp. He recovered quickly and used his biotics to give his next series of attacks more power. Shepard wove under his jab/cross but was caught by a well-placed kick.

"_Everything Saren's done is classified. My C-Sec status won't let me look into it."_

She wasn't in the game today. She shook her head, dancing back on the balls of her feet, guard dropping slightly once she was out of Alenko's reach. Alenko followed throwing a few tentative jabs to keep her at distance. She responded with a spinning crossing kick that cut him across the jaw.

"Dammit Commander, leave my head alone."

Shepard smiled in spite of herself, she hadn't realized she was being a headhunter today, "Sorry Alenko. Keep your guard up."

_Jenkins sank to the ground. The geth drones humming up the hill. The three of worked well together, and this was a routine mission, well, almost routine. They'd left him. Hours later, in space, the coffin sent into the black. The marine burial._

Alenko was moving closer, trying to slip between her guard. She brought her hands back up and landed a soft side kick just to keep him away. He huffed, not expecting it.

"At least it wasn't your face," Shepard said already back on the balls of her feet circling the ring.

_Nihlus dead. Prothean beacon gone. No human spectre._

He managed a half smile moving to her forty-five. She had a leg up and cocked, ready to keep him at arm's length. Baiting her, he slid in for a half second before launching a spin kick. She took the bait, and found herself on the mat.

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><p>Garrus looked over his shoulder at the small human female exiting the C-Sec gym, she was the same woman from the presidium earlier that day. Garrus had heard the council turned down her request to stop Saren because there wasn't enough evidence. He didn't blame them for their decision, the Council couldn't take her side without overwhelming proof, Saren was still a spectre. But knowing that didn't make it any easier to swallow. It was still his fault.<p>

Garrus noticed the swagger was out of her gait now, and she seemed to be favoring her left side a little. The male with her looked concerned. The human female didn't look damaged, but humans were a notoriously frail species and spirits knew what could be wrong with her. Despite the other women crowding close to him, the male hardly paid them any attention. She, however, hardly even looked in his direction. He was putting forth a lot of effort and it didn't seem to be working. Garrus frowned, confused. Turians wouldn't do that. They were much more straightforward than humans. But Garrus figured he would never understand humans no matter how long they hung out on the Citadel.

"Flux?" Jyril asked turning his head to see what Garrus was staring at so determinedly. "Nice," Jyril continued, Garrus looked at him confused. "I never thought you'd be one for flesh. But you have good tastes, if you're referring to the one _not_ fawning over the male. I'd say the rest of them are taken," Jyril was almost smiling.

Garrus shook his head. "No. That's the female from the Citadel. She's the one poking around after Saren."

Jyril regarded her again as she made her way down the crisp, white corridor, "I'd do some more investigating if I was you."

Garrus shook his head again. _No. Even if he favored flesh, she would certainly never speak to the officer who failed to incriminate Saren._ "Jyril, I'm not interested in flesh. It's too…soft."

Jyril flared his mandibles in a chuckle, "You have no idea what you're missing."

Garrus regarded her again. She was almost out of sight, "No, I suppose I don't. But, I'm not that interested in finding out." He didn't understand what Jyril found so fascinating about them: humans and asari. They were soft, and they looked so malleable and breakable. He could only imagine what his talons would do, let alone his teeth. That, he supposed, might be part of the allure. But not for him. Give him sturdy grey armor to grab and bite with long limbs to encircle him. Someone he wouldn't be afraid to hurt.

"I don't suppose there will be any turian women at Flux tonight, do you?" Garrus mused turning away from the disappearing band of humans.

Jyril smiled, "No. Likely not. Just widen your tastes, Vakarian."

Garrus suppressed a smile. _Doubtful_.

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><p>They emerged from the C-Sec training facilities an hour later. C-Sec always grudgingly allowed the militaries of the Citadel races to train there while on shore leave. She and Alenko had certainly garnered plenty of attention. She guessed humans didn't spar frequently…or at least they didn't spar <em>well<em>. Alenko was a decent close combat fighter, the best she'd found so far on the Normandy, and she enjoyed that he didn't hold back much.

She'd finally changed out of her uniform from the Normandy and into something clean. She was amazed at how much she still looked forward to the basic amenities of shore leave. Clean uniforms, almost fresh water, she always thought with enough time she'd get used to the essential staleness of ships. And somehow she always managed to convince herself she had, until she went on shore leave. A handful of the crew was waiting for the two of them, mostly women, and Shepard was almost certain they were just hoping for a chance to talk to Alenko. He was certainly starting to amass a fan club.

"Most of the crew is already at Chora's Den," she heard one of the young corporals say leaning in closer than she should have. Shepard almost mentioned something about rules against fraternization, but Alenko didn't look interested, so she let it slide. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a familiar shape exit the C-Sec gym. She glanced over at the turian, she couldn't quite place him, but she knew she'd seen him around. She still wasn't good at recognizing the distinctive markings for the other species no matter how many hours she spent watching their news vids.

Alenko looked over at Shepard, "You in?" She nodded. Boxing certainly wasn't going to get her head back in the game tonight, maybe a drink would.

Sure enough, the crew of the Normandy had commandeered a corner of the bar all to themselves. After months of trolling the Terminus systems for a group of batarian slavers the marines were overjoyed to eat and drink anything that wasn't on the ship. Shepard hated Chora's Den, even though it seemed to be a favorite with her crew. She wasn't opposed to seedy bars in general, but there was something about _this_ bar that always set her on edge.

"I see the LT got you good, Commander," one of the marines shouted at her as she made her way to the bar. A whiskey was going to taste so good.

She rubbed the already forming black eye. "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut," she threw back smiling.

"LT, are you going to take that?" The sergeant continued.

Alenko shrugged, "At least she takes it as well as she gives it…which is more than I can say for you, Lucas."

Shepard was glad they were joking. Jenkins's death had been hard on everyone. Shepard didn't lose people on Anderson's ship and under her command. Ever. Deaths on ships patrolling the edges of the Terminus System, while not frequent, weren't uncommon, and most of her marines had been on missions where they'd lost someone. But not her. Not since the Blitz. To make it even worse, he was well liked even if he was a bit green. It was Jenkins's first tour on the Normandy, and he'd been so eager to prove himself, and she'd decided to take him. It had been her call. Not Anderson's. Hers. And now there was the space he used to be, one bunk empty, one less voice in the mess, one more set of dog tags sent home with an apologetic note.

Shepard looked over at Alenko. He had been steered into a corner booth and was already surrounded by admirers. Shepard thought every female on the ship must be over there. "Does it hurt?" they cooed. Shepard wondered what they were talking about, Alenko hadn't taken a hit on Eden Prime, until she noticed Alenko's fat lip. She must really have been hunting heads today. She blushed. She was normally so controlled, and she _never_ hunted heads, at least not her crew's. She brought her hand instinctively up to her eye, they, however, seemed all right with hunting hers.

She cupped the whiskey in her hand and settled into one of the few unoccupied tables. The crew was close, they had to be on a deep space ship, but there were still rules about fraternization and Shepard didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable. Officer/enlisted frat was one thing on shore leave, but she was their XO and that was another beast entirely. Although Anderson had made it clear that he preferred she assume the responsibility of camaraderie as his second rather than leave it to him. She understood his reasons, but she had long since ceased to be just a soldier to any of them. She stared into the double shot held in her hands, she knew she should have been faster back on Eden Prime, that somehow all of this was her fault. She heard the shot, but she was still too slow. And then she broke that goddamn beacon. She downed the whiskey in one swift motion and went to the bar for another.

"You all right Commander?" It was Williams. She looked nearly as out of place as Shepard.

Shepard nodded, "Can I get you something?"

Williams shook her head, "No, I—well, yeah."

"Not a drinker?"

"Not usually, and certainly not when my Commander buys."

"Williams, tonight I'm not the Commander."

Williams looked uncertain, "Then, yes, I'd like a drink."

Shepard nodded signaling for two more whiskeys. "Come sit with me Williams, you look as uncomfortable as a salarian at a krogan wedding." Shepard could understand how Williams was feeling. The emptiness that comes when you're the only one who makes it out—Shepard had lost her squad on Elysium all those years ago. It wasn't something you ever forgot, just something you learned how to live with eventually.

"Thanks for letting me join the team, Commander," Williams said once they were sitting.

"Don't. You're a good soldier, and you've fought the geth. We need you." To Shepard it was as simple as that, although if Williams had wanted another posting, Shepard wouldn't have hesitated to give it to her. After Mindoir and Elysium fighting the batarians became a personal mission not just a professional one for Shepard, but she could understand how someone else who'd been through all she had would want nothing to do with them. She figured the same was true of Williams: the fight against the geth was personal now.

"Commander, I lost my squad down there. I'm not that good a soldier."

"Williams, if you call me Commander one more time you're going to be on mess duty for a month."

"Yes…ma'am?"

"Shepard. Just Shepard. At least tonight. On shore leave." She waited for Williams to nod before continuing. "We've all lost someone Williams. I lost Jenkins on this mission. He was a good kid, would have made a fine soldier, but shit happens, and it was on my watch. The number doesn't matter. It doesn't get easier. When the Blitz happened, I lost everyone. It's not how many people you lose Williams, its what you do after that makes you a soldier. Remember them, and learn to live for them."

Williams nodded, not really believing the Commander. Williams knew about the Blitz, every human knew about the Blitz. But that was different, Shepard had saved the colony. Williams hadn't saved anyone.


	2. Beginnings

**A/N**: Almost everything is owned by Bioware. As always reviews are loved and greatly encouraged.

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><p>Shepard paced her cabin. Her cabin. The words sounded all wrong in her head leaving a sour taste in her mouth. Her cabin. Her ship. Her crew. She stared at the cabin eyes roving over the bed, the computer, even the table. She remembered her debriefings with Anderson at 2100 every evening. The way he always lounged in the chair across from her, waiting as she ran through the day's events. Usually they shared a whiskey. She'd always dreamed of having her own ship, but not this one. Not Anderson's.<p>

Hell and she had aliens on the ship. She'd seen the disbelief in Udina's eyes when Wrex, Garrus, and Tali all boarded the Normandy. She hadn't said anything, just watched. Udina's eyes soaking them in as his jaw moved almost imperceptibly. She thought he might object to having aliens on an Alliance ship, but technically, the ship wasn't the Alliance's anymore. It was hers. The Spectre's. She had no qualms with aliens on _her_ ship. The turian was an exceptional shot, and the krogan was a veritable freight train in combat. The quarian, well, she found the evidence on Saren, and Shepard knew she could always use a tech expert. And quarians, she'd learned, were the best tech experts in the galaxy. They all had their own reasons for going with her. Wrex simply wanted someone to shoot, and she knew Garrus was still irked that Saren's movements had been restricted to him. His failure in C-Sec still rankled.

She pulled up the codex on her computer thumbing through the entries on her new crewmembers. She'd gone through the basic Alliance training for all officers, but she didn't know more than the basics. Turians were interested in honor. Krogan liked to fight. Quarians were nomads. The codex didn't have too much more that was interesting. Turians needed outlets for stress, that was new, and she raised her eyebrows when she figured out what they were. Krogan were extremely volatile, and she knew she'd be taking Wrex out in her squad a lot. And that left the quarians, and not much to read, she skimmed something about a pilgrimage and their flotilla, but nothing about how Tali would respond to being on her ship. They lived on ships all their lives, the flotilla, so Shepard assumed Tali would be fine.

She rolled her head back stretching the tight muscles on her neck. Joker would be wondering where they were headed. To Therum? To pick up the archeologist? and then on to find the asari matriarch? Or she could deal with the matriarch first, maybe it would be better if her daughter wasn't there. It was her choice. She scanned the galaxy map before making her way up to the cockpit. A couple of the marines saluted as she passed, and she returned the gesture. She didn't intend to run her ship like that, and she knew Anderson hadn't either. Better for them to be safe than sorry, she mused. She'd have to brief everyone on protocol. At least while she was in charge. It still seemed temporary to her, as though somehow Anderson would come striding back on to the bridge at any moment gruff voice barking commands.

Joker was lounging in his pilot's chair. He was reputedly the best pilot in the fleet, and Shepard had been privy to some of the stunts he pulled. "Hey Commander," he said in greeting.

"Joker."

"Where we headed?"

"Therum. Let's pick up that archeologist."

"You got it Commander." Joker turned back to the controls. She'd already given the crew her speech about the mission and what mattered. About living up to Anderson's legacy. No need to do that again.

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><p>Garrus made his way down to the cargo hold along with Wrex and Tali. Tali found the drive core almost instantly and disappeared. Garrus was growing fond of the little quarian. She was quiet and shy, but she certainly knew about ships. She certainly wasn't like the timid street rat most quarians had the reputation for being. Although that was expected for quarians when they spent their whole lives on the flotilla—perpetual exiles because of the geth. Her eyes went big when she saw some of the tech on the Normandy, and Garrus thought he could hear her whisper "keelah sel'ai" more than once. Garrus was a bit surprised, he'd always assumed the quarians would have some of the best tech because of how much their lives relied upon it, but, he supposed, when you're in exile R&amp;D can fall by the wayside.<p>

Garrus was surprised to see the turian design of the CIC. The commander would be able to see over the crew. She could watch everyone in a combat situation. Garrus was familiar with the premise, and he knew, well he thought he knew, it was anathema to human tactics. He was interested to see how it would turn out should the Normandy run into any trouble. Shepard seemed like a decent enough commander, she had figured out a way to get the Council on her side. And she'd been quick and decisive while dealing with Fist and the quarian. She was a decent enough shot too. He was taken aback when he saw her use biotics, turians didn't use biotics often preferring weapon modifications and training to biological enhancement.

Williams was down in the cargo hold too, she was busying herself at the armory examining the most recent acquisitions. Taking each gun apart, cleaning and inspecting it, before oiling and reassembling it. She was quick and thorough. Almost as fast as he was. Garrus wondered if maybe he had gone all these years not giving humans enough credit. Williams's eyes glanced restlessly around the cargo bay finding Garrus and then Wrex before moving back to Garrus. He knew he made Williams uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do about that. Humans were usually wary of turians, their sharp lines and features were too foreign to them to easily accommodate. But there was something in Williams's gaze Garrus recognized and didn't like. It wasn't just fear or caution, it was dislike almost hate. Garrus had seen the look often enough while he was working for C-Sec, especially when he was arresting suspects, but normally he understood the response. He understood it wasn't just him: it was the institution, or the circumstances. Garrus didn't know what he'd done to deserve it, but for some humans being an alien was enough. Although if Garrus was truthful, a lot of turians felt the same way about humans.

He made his way to the Mako. Familiar enough. The turian military used a similar model, and if he was going to be holed up down here he may as well make himself useful. Also, tinkering with machines calmed here, helped him to focus. And being the only turian on this ship, and with Williams constantly staring, he had a feeling he was going to need all the help focusing he could get. He ran his hand along the tan hull. She was new. As new as the ship. He doubted she'd been dropped more then a handful of times, there was hardly a scratch on her. He slid under her poking at her belly, separating wires checking some of the boxes. She had upgrades Garrus had never seen. He nodded appreciatively. He hoped he'd get to take her out soon. He'd love to put her through the paces, see just what these upgrades would do.

"Officer Vakarian!" a voice cut across the hold, and Garrus slammed his head into the bottom of the Mako in surprise.

He finally untangled himself, "Ma'am?" he stood.

"I have a project for you," she motioned for him to come closer. He was intrigued. What project could she have for him? Already. She was in the same uniform he'd seen on the Citadel when she spoke with the Council. He assumed it must be standard Alliance uniform. He'd seen enough of the Alliance wandering the Citadel, but he'd never really paid much attention to them. Better start now, then, he mused already committing the insignias and patches to memory.

"Turians are pretty one-dimensional when it comes to stress, right?" she continued bluntly. Garrus rarely encountered COs who minced words, he nodded. "And we don't have any female turians on ship, and I'd prefer if my female crew doesn't go into anaphylactic shock, so that leaves sparring."

Garrus's mouth hung open unexpectedly. Humans didn't do that on ships, against regs or something, "Who am I going to fight? I'm still the only turian on this ship."

She smiled, "Me. Or Wrex, if you think you can take him. Or anyone else who wants to. You can't hurt them." She regarded him, "They can't hurt you either. I won't have the Doc fixing people up over this. But as long as it stays clean, it's for all of us. I have no idea how long we'll be out, and I'd prefer to keep my turian sane."

Garrus wondered vaguely if all humans were like her. He hadn't expected her to pay attention to what one member of her crew might need. Especially not when he was the only one, as far as he knew Wrex and Tali could handle themselves fine. It was one of the reasons he'd situated himself near the Mako—non-destructive stress relief. He watched her order some of her marines around bringing poles and elastic. She was already marking out the ring, and the crew was anxious to help. He glanced over at Williams, the look on her face bordered on disgusted, and Garrus knew that Shepard was different. Humans were definitely not like her.

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><p>"Vakarian!" Shepard was in the ring. "Care to dance?"<p>

He obliged pulling off most of his blue armor leaving only the rough underclothes. His hard skin was a weak natural armor and would provide enough protection against the human. He was, in all honesty, more worried about her. She seemed so unfathomably small. She had small half gloves on her hand, more to protect her knuckles from his rough skin than anything else.

He slid between the ropes. They faced each other for a moment before a quick nod sent them into tight fighting stances. Shepard hunched her shoulders arms closing over her chest and sides. Her hands sat just at her cheekbones, right beneath her eyes. She was closed off. Elbows kept in to save energy. Garrus smiled, she knew what she was doing. And it told Garrus everything he needed to know about where to strike: anywhere.

Garrus's front arm hung low and outside protecting the soft flesh on his side while his back hand stayed up cocked next to his jaw to protect the skin around his neck. Turians, thankfully, only had a smattering of weak places. The extra radiation on Palaven occasionally came in handy, and close combat was the perfect example. Shepard swallowed when she saw Garrus's relatively open stance, and she had to restrain herself from feeling offended that he left himself so open. No one had baited her like that in a long time…since the first days of basic.

He stepped to the right and Shepard countered moving in an easy circle. He threw a quick jab and she bobbed to the outside taking a half step back just out of his reach. She changed direction leading with her back foot and giving him a half second window with every step. She feinted with a quick jab moving forward and sliding underneath his guard to land a hook at his open left side. She moved back as soon as it landed. Still testing. Neither of them were committing until they knew some of the limits, or capabilities, of the other.

Garrus gimaced when the punch landed. It wasn't a hard hit, and Garrus knew she hadn't put her weight behind it. He followed with a punch, but he was high and she already slipped out of his reach. He moved in throwing another jab to keep her moving. She wove left this time and he caught her with his cross. Her head knocked back, but she shook it off a grin starting to cross her face.

They were moving slowly. Methodically. Neither of them would fight this way in combat, both of them trying to read the other and trying to keep their tells as confined as possible. Her left leg twitched and Garrus danced back out of her reach in anticipation. She saw, recognition crossing her face. She twitched her leg again, and Garrus stayed where he was, he didn't want to give her another tell. This time her leg flicked up catching the side of his face. She was fast, he made a mental note so he wouldn't be caught again.

She followed with an uppercut, but she caught his hardened skin instead, "Ow," she muttered shaking her hand as she moved back out.

Garrus grinned, "We're not all soft like you humans."

"I noticed." They were circling each other.

A small crowd of marines were watching, and for once they were silent. There was nothing menacing about this bout, nothing that would alert them. But it was different. Their Commander was fighting an opponent that was clearly bigger and most likely stronger than she was, and none of them knew how he would respond. Garrus quickly looked at them, they were tense, but waiting. He knew they wouldn't interfere. Shepard followed his eyes, scanning their growing audience. Garrus took the opportunity and closed the space between them.

Jab, jab, cross, uppercut, cross. And Shepard was back against the ropes.

Her hands instinctively rose to protect her face against the onslaught, and he felt her body stiffen and then relax. Hands dropped half a second later to meet him with a head butt.

Startled he stumbled back a few steps, enough space so she could slink away from the ropes. The marines hollered encouragement.

Garrus hadn't expected that from the human. It was a bold move, and neither of them showed any inclination towards boldness, at least during this round. She shot him a half smile and shrug wiping the sweat from her face.

Garrus still held the middle of the ring, although Shepard was a persistence opponent. She danced in and then out again before he could respond. He knew she had to be getting tired, he could see the sweat beading along her hairline. He was tiring too, but turians didn't sweat. Didn't really show their fatigue at all, really. He was suddenly glad for that.

Her leg flicked up again. He spent a fraction of a second wondering if she hunted heads or just knew that was his weak spot, before closing the gap and colliding with her. He closed fast enough that her kick missed him, and he slammed into her with enough force to knock her to the ground. His foot was on her before she could rise, the standard turian symbol for the end of a round, but the angry mutters from some of the marines made him reconsider and he moved.

She was up, smiling. "Good. I haven't fought like that in a long time." The audience was quiet again once they realized she was fine.

"Me either." And he hadn't. She was unexpected, a welcome change from the rote sessions he'd been having back on the Citadel. Of course, they were both still testing each other, but she challenged him, and he thought maybe he did too.

She reached to shake his hand, and he took it. Friendly ending. Friendly bout.

She turned to address the crew, "All right men, here's the rules: don't hurt each other. Don't let it get out of control. Either of those things happen, and it's done. Consider this an experiment since we're not an Alliance vessel anymore." She felt good saying that, _not an Alliance vessel_. They weren't. She was making the Normandy into her ship. As much as it hurt her to cleanse Anderson's influence, she knew she had to. For her crew. For her.


	3. Therum

**A/N: **Bioware owns everything Mass Effect related.

Sorry for the long pause between updates. And thank you to everyone who has been reading, alerting, favoriting, reviewing this story. Quick note: while this Shepard is also Jane, she is not necessarily the same Jane. And this story is not related to my other fic "All That Comes After" although there will be similarities.

As always, R&R, it makes my heart happy!

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Therum<strong>

Shepard rolled behind a support strut reloading. _Fuck_. This was not going to end well. She took half a second review where the enemies were: geth sniper near the entrance, krogan across the elevator shaft, four geth trying to flank her. And the asari, in the goddamn middle of the floor. She suppressed another curse. Pick up the archeologist, they told her, she'll be useful. Shepard thought she was about as useful as a used heat sink, but that wasn't the issue right now. The krogan battlemaster was.

"Wrex! The krogan!" she shouted. If anyone could last against the battlemaster it would be Wrex, at least until she could pick off a few of these geth.

"Garrus, your three!" ordered directing him to a steadily advancing geth. She heard the _whomp_ of his rifle and a second later she heard the geth fall. She whipped a throw at a geth inching ominously toward the Asari leveling him across the room. Two down, two more to go.

She heard the roar of a krogan somewhere on her right followed by the heavy thud of charging feet. She pressed herself closer against the strut, readying her shotgun. The krogan emerged half a second later, and she unloaded three incendiary rounds into him. _Shit_. The armor was barely singed.

"Concussive shot!" Vakarian called and a heartbeat later the krogan was on the ground. Shepard unloaded the rest of her clip into the krogan sighing as the krogan slowly stopped moving.

Wrex was on the ground, but from the sounds he was making he wasn't hurt. Just embarrassed. That she could deal with. Two more geth: the sniper at the entrance and one still…somewhere.

She could feel the adrenaline pounding in her ears. God, it felt good. "Vakarian, grab the archeologist." She motioned Wrex behind her to take out the last of the geth as she sidled around the crate the geth was using for cover. The elevator shaft shuddered uncomfortably reminding Shepard why she wanted to finish this quickly. She let her charged biotics lead pulling the geth out of cover before sinking a round deep into the geth's head. She was rewarded with a satisfying explosion. She heard Wrex's feet thud towards her, and she knew he'd also dispatched his geth.

Vakarian was holding the asari up, she looked terrified. "Come on people! Let's Move! Move! Move! Move!" She pushed them through the door ahead of her. She took the stairs two at a time, she could hear the ground crumbling around her.

"Hurry!" She all but threw the asari into the Normandy. She leapt after her, she was gong to be short. She reached willing her arms to be longer than they were when she felt a solid hand around hers. Garrus, she'd never been so glad to see a turian in her life. He hauled her up with on heave, leaving her coughing in the airlock.

"Can't leave the Commander behind. Otherwise who am I going to use to cut through that tape?" he shrugged like it was nothing. Shepard nodded.

She slumped against the bulkhead the day finally catching up to her. The geth colossus, the stalkers, the snipers holding the basin, the Prothean artifacts, all of it came crashing down. At least she had the archeologist. She had what she came for.

oo000oo

"Williams!" Shepard's voice rang across the cargo hold.

The gunnery chief snapped to attention, oil spilling over the weapon counter. "Ma'am?"

Williams had taken Eden Prime hard. She'd kept to herself and stayed quiet. Shepard knew the loss of her team was what gnawed at her, but Williams couldn't let it consume her. She was too good a soldier for that, and Shepard needed to take her out in her squad soon, she could use another gun. Tali was perfect for decryption, but she'd been almost useless against that krogan battlemaster. And Liara, sure, her biotics might be strong, but she needed to use them not cower in the middle of the field. She wasn't a soldier that was clear. She was just a scientist who happened to have an important mother.

"Suit up. Let's go." Shepard was already in the ring arms hanging loose at her sides. She shook them twice, bounced on the balls of her feet. Williams was taller that she was, but not by much, only a couple of inches. Not like Garrus, and certainly not like Alenko.

Williams looked anxious. Hell, the gunnery chief was anxious. She'd never hit her superior officer, the Williams's played by the book. Always. There were enough strikes against them, no need to pile on anymore.

Shepard took the first swing straight and true at Williams's nose. She ducked stepping back. Shepard pressed forward, hard, forcing Williams back on her heels. Before she knew it she was on the ropes.

She bobbed under Shepard's left hook easing to the center of the ring. She still hadn't hit back.

_She's graduating. First in her class, last to get an assignment. Williams. The name stings, sticking to her, she can't get away. She studies longer, pushes herself harder than anyone else in the class. No excuses_.

Shepard was still pushing hard. Now, it's a spin kick at her gut, Williams slides to the right, but not fast enough. Her breath came out in a single huff as the kick connected with her ribs. The kick wasn't hard, just enough to knock the breath out of her. Shepard followed with a quick hook, uppercut combo that Williams can't quite evade. The blows were glancing, and she had a second to regain her breath before Shepard's on her again.

Jab, jab, jab, cross, jab, hook, kick, uppercut, the onslaught of blows caught Williams again pushing her back against the ropes. She felt the years of casual degradation push at her restraint. How many other commanding officers have tested her like this? Pushing her control, waiting for her to retaliate so she'd be locked in the brig with one more black mark on her record.

"Come on, Williams, is this the best you can do?" Shepard taunted her easing back for half a second.

Shepard closed the distance again, this time with a sidekick. The kick was slow. On purpose, Williams thought, as she sidestepped it easily.

"I've seen quarian who fight better than you," Shepard mocked.

_She's on Eden Prime. She's just arrived. A Gunnery Chief stationed on a backwater farming world. She knows it's an insult, just another curse of the Williams family name, but she says nothing. She'll serve her time here just like she did at every other assignment._

Williams held her hands at her cheeks defensively while she waited for another round of blows to come. She wouldn't entertain Shepard's cracked idea of fun. Shepard moved in again raining another series of punches. Williams didn't move. She just stood leaning against the ropes.

Shepard finally stopped. Williams wasn't going to break tonight, those barriers would be up for a while. Jane sighed, hair sticking to her sweaty skin. "We're done. Williams, dismissed."

Williams slid between the ropes back to her spot at the armory. She had a sinking feeling she hadn't behaved as the Commander wanted. Her first shipboard assignment and she was going to fuck it up. She thumbed open her console finding a message from one of her sisters: Abby. She felt the knot around her heart loosen just a little. She sat at her desk, the familiar presence of her sister was almost with her. "Forward, the Light Brigade," she whispered.

oo000oo

Shepard slammed the console on the elevator. Who in the hell had she picked up? A turian with an attitude problem, a mercenary krogan, a quarian kid, a biotic with uncontrollable migraines, an asari who'd never held a gun, and a gunnery chief who had some serious baggage, Saren might not be up against that much after all. Shepard leaned against the back of the elevator, for once glad of the impossibly slow speed. The sparring session left her more frustrated than she'd started. She closed her eyes sorting through everything she still had to do today. Too much.

Thankfully, Therum hadn't been too much of a waste of time. T'Soni might be useful when they found her mother, but Shepard wasn't particularly hopeful on that front. She had been studying Protean artifacts her whole life, so she could be helpful when the finally figured out what Saren was after. Shepard let out a long slow sigh, rolling her shoulders, the tension was still building and she wasn't sure how to relieve it.

"Commander," Joker's voice cut through her momentary reverie.

"What is it?"

"The Council's on the line."

Shepard closed her eyes; she couldn't just ignore them as much as she might want to. She was the human spectre, and she had a reputation to maintain to ensure she wasn't the _only_ human spectre. "I'll be there in a moment," she finally replied.

"All right, Commander," she heard the click as Joker signed off.

The elevator opened back at the CIC. Shepard stiffened her resolve and made her way back to the comm room for what she knew would be an unpleasant conversation. Just how unpleasant it would be was something she hadn't prepared herself to expect. Not only were they unimpressed with her reports of further geth activity, or their seeming alliance with a krogan battlemaster, they also blamed her for the destruction of the Prothean ruins. This, apparently, was the second time she'd destroyed something valuable and ancient. She resisted the urge to cut the call short, finishing with terse statements and promise to keep them updated. She wondered vaguely if this day could get any worse.

She bumped into Vakarian on her way back to her cabin, she'd never wanted the privacy of the Captain's quarters until today. "Vakarian, nice work out there."

"Just doing my job, Shepard."

"You did it well." She looked down at his mostly empty plate, "Getting dinner?"

"I was, but dextro food isn't prolific on an Alliance cruiser," Vakarian shrugged as though he wasn't hungry enough to eat the Mako.

"When we're at the Citadel again I'll make sure we pick some up for you. I need my sparring partner back," she attempted to smile and make it a joke before the turian could decline.

"I thought you were taking on Williams today. She seems like she would be a better match," the turian replied. He'd enjoyed sparring the human, she'd given him more of a challenge than he'd had in a long while, but he certainly outweighed her. The human female would be a much better partner.

"I don't think she's comfortable hitting her commanding officer," Shepard looked disappointed.

"Well, not everyone feels as free to disregard the chain of command as I do," he tried to make light of it. "I should get back to the Mako. She took a beating on Therum. The enemy fire combined with the heat, she needs to be cleaned up a bit before you take her out again." He disappeared into the elevator.

Shepard watched him go before slinking back to her cabin. There was always paperwork to distract her.

oo000oo

Garrus slid under the Mako frowning at the black scorching around the exhaust. She was lucky they hadn't lost the thing. _He_ was lucky she hadn't lost the thing. She'd brought him along on the mission, although spirits knew why. He grabbed one of his tools scrubbing the carbon off the Mako's underbelly. He hadn't felt that alive while in the field for a long time. The Geth Colossus, the way Shepard holed herself in slowly whittling down its defenses, her calls for his overload. He sat on her six waiting watching for snipers or reinforcements. He's missed the feel of the rifle in his hands, the C-Sec pistols don't feel the same.

Garrus wasn't sure what to make of their newest recruit, the asari, she seemed nice enough, but that was what got Garrus. She was too nice, if there was such a thing. And she'd been nearly useless against that krogan, Shepard had almost taken a hit trying to keep the asari safe. The asari was lucky she hadn't taken a stray bullet. Garrus wasn't sure what Shepard was hoping to accomplish by keeping her on board other than maybe speaking to Benezia. Not your ship, he reminded himself, but he liked it. He liked Shepard, envied her freedom, and he was glad for a second chance against Saren.

He closed his eyes forcing himself to forget everything except for the intricate cables of the Mako. He could probably boost her shields 5% if he worked hard enough, and since Shepard wasn't going to fight him tonight, he needed something else to occupy his time.

He remembered the solid muscle of her arm has he grabbed her. The way her body tensed when he lifted her into the airlock. He knew humans were soft, but he'd never thought they would also be so solid. He should have noticed as much while they were sparring, but she'd kept him on his toes too long. Pushing him back against the ropes. He smiled while he cleaned the underside of the Mako: this was why he left C-Sec.


End file.
